AWARD DINNER BREAKS FUNDRAISING RECORDS

Craig and Suzanne Packer.

Community and business leaders, numbering 550 from the tristate area, helped raise more than $1 million for Burke Rehabilitation in White Plains at its annual Burke Award Dinner on Thursday, June at the Westchester Country Club in Rye, New York.

The Burke Award Honorees Suzanne and Craig Packer have exhibited courage, strength and resilience after experiencing a life-altering event. Suzanne Packer has served on the Board of Directors of the Greenwich Red Cross for more than two decades organizing fundraising events and hurricane relief missions throughout the United States. Craig Packer is co-founder and senior managing director of Blue Owl, a publicly traded alternative asset manager. He serves on the Board of Trustees at Greenwich Academy and is co-chair of the Honorary Board of Kids in Crisis, a nonprofit organization assisting children in Connecticut.

Proceeds from the Burke Award will support Burke”™s rehabilitative services and the newly established Suzanne and Craig Packer Safely Home Fund. 

 Burke Executive Director Scott Edelman, MBA, CPA, CFE, said, “Our team of rehabilitation specialists is committed to providing patients, families and caregivers with an exceptional experience. Burke represents hope and getting each patient back to maximum recovery.” 

The Board also presented the Lifetime Achievement Award to retired Burke Board Chairman John R. McCarthy acknowledging his 15 years of service. Burke is providing a lasting tribute to McCarthy by creating The McCarthy Family Meditation Garden on Burke”™s White Plains campus. 

 A not-for-profit health-care organization devoted solely to acute physical rehabilitation Burke was founded in 1915 through an endowment from philanthropist John Masterson Burke. It has been a member of the Montefiore Health System since 2016 and operates the only hospital in Westchester County dedicated solely to adult and adolescent rehabilitation medicine. Burke also offers therapeutic care in locations throughout Westchester County, the Hudson Valley and the Bronx for those who have experienced injuries, surgery, or chronic conditions, from the simple to the very complex.